


Falling

by bokuakabeam



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Doubt, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, How Do I Tag, Just a short little thing, M/M, Self-Doubt, Watching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:40:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24173758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bokuakabeam/pseuds/bokuakabeam
Summary: Hinata couldn't help but find himself falling
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Tsukishima Kei, Hinata Shouyou/Tsukishima Kei
Comments: 10
Kudos: 183





	Falling

**Author's Note:**

> Cherry said she wanted TsukiHina so I attempted it. What Cherry wants, Cherry gets.

Hinata couldn’t help but disagree with romance movies. They in no way prepared him for the tornado of emotions that came with loving someone like Tsukishima Kei. Love had been romanticized in popular media to mean seeing someone for the first time across a crowded room, and instantly falling for them. Or bumping into them, and when you’re bent down picking up your belongings, your eyes meet for the first time and you fall for them. It was all bullshit.

There was one thing Hinata can attest to, however, about the concept of falling in love.

He fell. And _hard_.

The first time they met, that night in the park when he and Kageyama were banned from club activities until they could perform as a team, Hinata hated Tsukishima. Not only was he a smug douche, he was freakin’ tall! He had everything that Hinata didn’t, and he couldn’t help the mixture of animosity and jealousy that built up in his chest every time he saw the blonde asshole. Hinata swore that night that he would do everything in his power to improve his skills so he could show up Tsukishima. And that is exactly the moment in time where things went downhill.

He became focused almost _too_ much on Tsukishima, trying to pinpoint what exactly he would do during practices and games, so he could attempt to match his skill level. But that’s when he started noticing other things as well, like the flex of his leg muscles as he jumped to kill a spike, or the way he would slide his glasses down his nose to wipe sweat from his brow. The line between studying Tsukishima and admiring him became blurred, and Hinata was almost struck dead when he realized that he had developed feelings for the middle blocker. The willpower that Hinata possessed in his hunger for improvement started to stem _from_ Tsukishima instead of in defiance to him. More often than not, when Hinata excelled in his receives or spikes, he found himself looking to Tsukishima for praise rather than the rest of his team; he felt that any compliment that Tsukishima had to give would be true and honest seeing as he didn’t hand them out easily, so his word became gospel for the redhead.

It was only when his feelings towards the blonde became more apparent to himself that Hinata really started to attempt a friendship with him. They had been steadily growing closer during their first year at Karasuno, especially after their first couple practice games. And as heartbreaking as it had been to lose to Seijoh, that was really when Tsukishima and Hinata’s relationship began to grow. Hinata’s emotions were always worn on his sleeve, so it was easy for people to see that he was shattered. Comparatively, Tsukishima tended to hide his feelings behind a mask of aloofness, which gave off the impression that he didn’t care either way whether they won or lost.

However, it was during a brief moment of weakness, when Tsukishima had thought he was the only one left in the club room, where he slammed a fist into the metal lockers lining the wall. His anger and frustration showed easily on his face, and his teeth were gritted in anguish, but only for a brief moment. Then it was back to his normal expression, as if nothing had happened. But Hinata had seen it all from a crack in the clubroom door. He’d seen the flash of emotions across the taller boy’s face, the outburst of anger that caused the metal lockers to shudder in their place, and the soft grunt of failure slipping from his lips. It was then that Hinata’s feelings solidified, just knowing that Tsukishima could _feel_ , and so intensely.

Aside from his outburst in the clubroom, Tsukishima took their loss as an opportunity to better himself in preparation for the next time they played a match against Seijoh. And while he kept up his usual facade, Hinata could now easily observe the cracks that broke through the usually cold exterior. When Tsukishima was successful in killing a spike, Hinata could see the very slight upturn of the blonde’s lips, not quite a smile, but more than the usual frown he wore. When Tsukishima executed a well-placed spike, completely throwing off the opposing side’s defense, the shimmer in his eyes giving Hinata all he needed to know to see that Tsukishima was _proud._ Whether that pride emanated from his own achievements or the work of his team, Hinata didn’t know. But every time he noticed something so subtle and small coming from his most apathetic teammate, Hinata would feel his own elation multiply tenfold.

It had been a day similar to the others before it; volleyball practice started, and Hinata’s gaze occasionally drifted to Tsukishima throughout. However, the fundamental difference of this day compared to every other day was that Tsukishima was meeting Hinata’s scrutiny with a glare of his own. Every time. At first Hinata had just assumed it was a fluke; there wasn’t a single other time that he remembered in the past where Tsukishima would willingly meet Hinata eye to eye during practice. But it wasn’t only the eye contact that quirked Hinata’s interest on this day, it was the fact that Tsukishima looked at him as if he was trying to figure him out. Like Hinata was a puzzle that Tsukishima couldn’t quite solve. The day passed, thankfully without anything else bizarre capturing Hinata’s attention.

Except that it happened again the next day. Hinata felt electric pulses course through his veins every time that intense golden eyes met his own, and he would quickly look away. This continued happening for a week, until Tsukishima seemed to finally be fed up with the game they had been playing.

“You’ve been watching me.” Tsukishima always spoke bluntly, and while this statement alone wasn’t too intimidating, the realization that Tsukishima had noticed Hinata’s close examination made his blood run cold.

“Wh-What? I think you’re imagining things, Tsukishima,” Hinata stammered, a nervous laugh bubbling past his lips.

“It wasn’t a question, shithead. I’ve seen you.” The blonde cocked a hip and pressed his hand against it, resting a majority of his weight on one leg.

Hinata didn’t answer, instead shifting his gaze to his feet, scuffing his shoe against the concrete. Tsukishima had walked up to Hinata directly after practice had let out, but only once the rest of the team had shuffled into the club room to change.

“Why?”

  
“Why what?” Hinata cocked his head and finally dared a look at Tsukishima, who met him with a confused look of his own.

“Why have you been watching me?”

Hinata contemplated his answer at that, bringing his bottom lip between his teeth to chew at it for a moment. He didn’t want to ruin the good thing he had going with Tsukishima, the blonde was actually seeming to tolerate him lately. However, things couldn’t continue the way they had been, especially since Tsukishima had caught on. Finally, Hinata let out a breath that he hadn’t known he’d been holding, and spoke softly.

  
“At first, it was because I just wanted to catch up to your skill level. You are so good at volleyball, and I wanted to show you that I could be that good too.”

  
“At first?” Tsukishima repeated the words, and if Hinata didn’t know any better, he could have sworn he saw a glimmer of something flash through Tsukishima eyes. _Hope._

“Well…” Hinata trailed off, once again biting his lip. “ _At first_ I watched you because I wanted to show you up. Now… Now I watch you because you’re nice to look at.”

  
Tsukishima’s eyebrows shot up, and he crossed his arms as he looked down at Hinata with a look of amusement. “I’m nice to look at?”

Indignation rose up in Hinata’s chest, and he huffed out a frustrated breath. “ _Yes_ , alright? You’re nice to look at. I like watching you on the court.”

  
“Just on the court?” Tsukishima seemed to be teasing him now.

“Excuse me?” Hinata just pouted and tried to look anywhere but at Tsukishima’s face. If he looked up and saw Tsukishima on the verge of laughter he would want to punch and kiss him. In that order.

“I mean, do you just watch me on the court? Or do you like looking at me elsewhere too?” Tsukishima leaned down now, bringing his face much closer to Hinata’s, making the redhead meet his gaze. “Because I like to look at you too.”

  
Hinata sputtered a breath, feeling like his heart just swam up to his throat. “Y-You what?”

“I like to look at you on the court too, of course. The way your hair moves and bounces with every step you take, and the way your eyes light up when you do something right during a game… It almost takes my breath away. But outside the court…” Tsukishima trailed off that that, almost like he’d realized how much he was confessing.

Hinata’s eyes just widened and he gave Tsukishima a look as if saying ‘please continue.’ And so he did.

“The way you always brighten up the room when you walk in… The way you always glare at your homework like it did something to personally offend you… The way that your smile is literally the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Breathing suddenly became difficult, and Hinata was struggling to fill his lungs as he listened to Tsukishima. Every word that the blonde uttered seemed to further solidify Hinata’s feelings in his heart, and salty tears began pricking the corners of his eyes.

  
“Tsukishima…” He murmured, and finally it seemed that the two noticed how close they were. If Hinata leaned up or if Tsukishima leaned down ever so slightly…

He wasn’t sure who initiated it, or if it was a joint effort, but suddenly their lips met in the briefest, softest most barely-there kiss. As if they were both scared of rejection, scared that they would be pushed away. But after, their eyes opened and met, and Hinata was the first to break the silence.

He laughed. He laughed until he couldn’t breathe, and then he laughed some more. Tsukishima had looked taken aback at first, but then joined the redhead in laughing, reaching down and taking his hands in his own as he did.

“What are we laughing at?”

  
“I’m just…” Hinata’s eyes shone, and he looked at Tsukishima with the widest smile the blonde had ever seen on a person. “I’m just really happy that you feel the same way that I do.”

“And how do you feel, Hinata?” Tsukishima asked, his voice soft.

“I feel like I finally realized how unfair life is that I fell in love with someone like you.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you want, go check out my BokuAka chaptered fic! <3


End file.
